Sedona Red Recap: Rally falls short as Diamondbacks suffer first loss to Mets
Aug 16, 2016, 11:18 PM
New York Mets' Alejandro De Aza slides safely into third base as Arizona Diamondbacks' Jake Lamb, right, applies a late tag as Mets third base coach Tim Teufel watches during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016, in Phoenix. De Aza hit an RBI double and reached third base on an error by the Diamondbacks. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Arizona Diamondbacks have pulled off a season sweep against a National League opponent just twice in franchise history.
As it turns out, that number won’t be changing anytime soon.
The D-backs entered Tuesday’s contest with an opportunity to run their record to 5-0 against the New York Mets in 2016. And their chances looked decent when they took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. But New York came storming back, hanging four on Braden Shipley in the fifth, then notching three more in the sixth.
That was all the Mets needed.
Yasmany Tomas smacked his 23rd home run of the year, Jean Segura picked up three more hits and Mitch Haniger celebrated his Major League debut by driving in a trio of runs. But it wasn’t enough, as Arizona fell by a final of 7-5 in front of 20,790 fans at Chase Field.
With the loss, the D-backs are now 20-40 at home in 2016 and 49-70 overall.
THE GOOD
– Tomas now has six home runs in his last seven home games.
– Michael Bourn saved a run in the fifth, when he made a running grab on a long fly ball to the wall in left-center off the bat of Rene Rivera. At the time, T.J. Rivera was on third and Alejandro De Aza was on second with no outs.
– Haniger’s first career hit came in the form of a two-run triple in the sixth.
– Haniger also came up big in the field, making a sliding catch on a James Loney liner in the seventh.
– By the end of the evening, Haniger had become the first ever Arizona player to notch three RBI and multiple extra-base hits in his Major League debut.
– Segura had the legs working at top speed in this one, stealing a base and beating out two throws for infield singles.
THE BAD
– Just after Bourn made that big catch in the fifth, Noah Syndergaard crushed a two-run home run deep into the right-field seats.
– This was really Shipley’s first rough outing since his debut. He cruised through the first four frames but then couldn’t get anyone out in the fifth. Chip Hale elected to let him pitch through it, but he ultimately finished with seven runs allowed on ten hits over 5.0 innings.
– With runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh – and a chance to tie the game – Chris Owings ended the inning with a grounder to short.
STAT OF THE GAME
19: The number of bases the Diamondbacks have stolen against the Mets this season. That’s the most they’ve ever swiped against a non-divisional opponent and just one off their all-time mark against anyone. The club record is 20, set in 2011 against both the Rockies and Padres.
HE SAID IT
“We don’t want them [young pitchers] to take their lumps to the point where we’re out of a game. Like tonight, I wish I could’ve gotten him out of there a little quicker. In retrospect, obviously, you take him out, probably, after the fifth if you knew what was going to happen in the sixth. But it happened quickly.” – Chip Hale
NOTED
-Arizona won a challenge in the sixth, when Segura beat out a grounder to third but was initially called out to end the inning.
UP NEXT
These two clubs will square off again tomorrow night for their final meeting of the season. The D-backs will be going for the sweep – not just for this series, but for the entire season. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.
Arizona will send Zack Godley (3-2) to the mound. The 26-year old righty will be making his seventh start of the season, and 13th of his career. In his most recent outing, he held the Red Sox to just two hits and one run over 5.1 innings at Fenway on August 12 in a relief appearance.
New York will counter with Jonathon Niese (8-6), who has struggled mightily against the Diamondbacks this season. In three appearances against Chip Hale’s group – two of which came in the last week – the 29-year old lefty is sporting a 12.86 ERA and 2.57 WHIP. He’s still looking for his first win since being dealt from Pittsburgh to the Mets on August 1.
